Consider the following statements: I. In the revenue administration of Delhi Sultanate, the in-charge of revenue collection was known as ‘Amil’. II. The Iqta system of Sultans of Delhi was an ancient indigenous institution. III. The office of ‘Mir Bakshi’ came into existence during the reign of Khalji Sultans of Delhi. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

The correct answer is A (1 only). The core concept is how the Delhi Sultanate's revenue and military administration was organised, which is a standard Medieval India theme in Prelims and a useful Mains angle on the centralisation of revenue under Alauddin Khalji.

• Statement I is correct. The Amil was the revenue collector and administrator at the district or pargana level. He collected land revenue, and the post was tied to the iqta system.
• Statement II is wrong. The iqta was not indigenous. It was an administrative assignment of land revenue that came into India from the Seljuk and Ghaznavid traditions and was adopted by the Sultanate. Iltutmish gave it a firm structure, and the holders (iqtadars) were transferable officials, not hereditary landlords.
• Statement III is treated as wrong in the key. Mir Bakshi was a military and paymaster office (related to the Ariz-i-mumalik's functions). Its roots are usually traced to the army reforms of Balban, and the key does not accept a Khalji origin. Candidates often remember Alauddin Khalji's market and military reforms and attribute the whole post to him, which is the trap here.

Trap: Assuming the iqta was an indigenous Indian institution because it appears in Indian history, or assigning the Mir Bakshi office to Alauddin Khalji simply because he is associated with military reforms.